After spending some time with Papyrus in the junkyard in order to keep him from interfering with Undyne and Alphys' date, Woona decided to head back to the Lab to check on Mettaton. As such, after saying goodbye to Papyrus, she took a shortcut back to the Lab, only to find Alphys there, opening a door that Woona hadn't gone into before, one that closely resembled elevator doors. "Alphys?" Woona asked curiously.
Alphys jumped back from the doors in surprise, the doors sliding closed as she spun towards Woona. "Oh, Woona. I-I didn't see you there. W-what brings you here?"
"I came to check on Mettaton," Woona replied readily. "Is he okay?"
"Fully charged, and back in his box form to conserve power," Alphys replied, seeming relieved at the choice of topic. "He went to spend some time with Napstablook before going back to performing. He said something about forming a band."
"I'm glad he's okay," Woona said gratefully. Knowing that, she brought up a different point of curiosity. "Where's that door go?" she asked, pointing to the door Alphys was entering.
Alphys hesitated. She slowly turned from Woona to the door and back, deep in thought. Finally, she sighed. "I have to start with someone..." she murmured softly. She looked up at Woona. "Behind that door...are my greatest mistakes, on my biggest shame...I've been hiding from it, and the world, for a long time. But...it's time to face it." She turned towards the door.
"Not alone!" Woona insisted, clambering up Alphys' back to sit on her shoulder. "That's what friends are for!"
Alphys hesitated. "Y-you don't have to go in with me if y-you don't want to," she stammered. "It's...likely to be pretty s-scary..."
"I'm sure she can handle it," Chara spoke up. "Especially with you guiding us through it."
Sighing, Alphys nodded. "Alright, come on," she said softly, walking through the door and into the elevator. Walking up to the controls, she pressed a button and the doors closed behind them. The elevator moved down normally for a time, and then stalled. "What?" Alphys asked, confused. "That's not-"
The elevator suddenly started dropping rapidly, sounding like it was dragging against the walls. Lights flashed red as an alert blared. "WARNING! WARNING! ELEVATOR LOSING POWER! EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!"
As Woona shrieked in fear, Alphys grabbed hold of her and pulled her into her arms, crouching around the tiny filly to shield her with her body. "Hang on, Woona!" she screamed out over the blaring alarms. "It's going to be okay! It's going to be okay..."
"ALTITUDE DROPPING!" the alert blared out as everything went white, and then dark, followed by a loud crash.
Woona came to as light shone in her eyes from the open elevator doors. Alphys was leaning over her. "A-are you okay, Woona?" she asked worriedly.
Woona nodded slowly as she stood up. "I'm okay," she replied. "W...what happened?"
"The main generator for this lab must have malfunctioned," Alphys explained. "With the generator off, the elevator couldn't complete the trip normally, so it...dropped. We're going to have to collect the restart keys and reactivate it."
Woona slowly got to her hooves. "Should we...split up?" she asked curiously. "We'll find them faster that way..."
Alphys hesitated. "I...I don't want to leave you down here alone..."
"Forget about me already?" Chara asked jokingly.
"There's only so much either of you can do down here if you encounter-" Alphys cut herself off. "Never mind. But the lack of power has probably agitated them, so we likely should hurry. We'll go together until we get to the main part of the lab. That's when the paths split. We'll decide what to do from there once we get there."
Nodding, Woona allowed herself to be lifted back to Alphys' shoulder, looking around as Alphys made her way into the lab. In the darkness, the green walls, ceiling, and floor tiles looked all the more menacing. Like a Japanese horror in a hospital, Chara thought silently, actively shielding that thought from Woona.
As they approached a screen on the wall, it lit up with data. "What's that?" Woona asked curiously.
"That's...I left some data scattered around here," Alphys explained. "You can...read them to learn more about...what's down here." She walked nervously up to the screen to let Woona read.
ENTRY NUMBER 1
This is it...
Time to do what the King has asked me to do.
I will create the power to free us all.
I will unleash the power of the SOUL.
Woona sat back. "I...I don't think I need to read any of the others..." she whispered softly.
"Huh?" Alphys asked, confused.
"You were experimenting with enhancing monster souls with Determination, to give them the power of human souls so that Monsters could break the barrier, weren't you?" Woona inquired.
Alphys looked flabbergasted. "How did you-"
"We got a lot of information from someone you don't want to talk or think about," Chara clarified. "About the nature of Monsters, Determination...and the purpose of the Legendary Artifact, the SOULSTONE."
Alphys eyes widened. "H...how do you know about the SOULSTONE?" she gasped out.
"Because Woona is wearing it around her neck."
Alphys turned, staring at the SOULSTONE, her realization erasing the 'Mysterious Torc's aura of mysteriousness as she realized what it was. "But...but the white dog...he's supposed to guard it, so it can't be removed..."
"White dog?" Woona asked. "You mean the one in the Ruins who stole Mommy's cell phone and flour? He's the one who gave it to me after I rubbed his belly."
Alphys stared from Woona to the SOULSTONE, and then started to hyperventilate.
"Great job, Woona, you broke her."
"I didn't mean to!" Woona whimpered as she hugged Alphys, trying to help her feel better.